Students graduate from Coles for first time in nearly 50 years

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Monica Bayarena (left), principal of Coles High School, gives Destiny Botello, 18, a hug as she graduates from Coles on Thursday at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium. It was the first time in nearly 50 years students graduated from the school.

Rachel Denny Clow

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times King High School graduate Renae Grigsby (left) gets help with her cap from Coles High School graduate Stephanie Gaona, both 18, before commencement ceremonies on Thursday at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium.

Rachel Denny Clow

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times This medal featuring the namesake of Coles High School will be given to students who graduate from the school. The first Coles High School students in nearly 50 years graduated on Thursday at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium.

Rachel Denny Clow

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Monica Bayarena (left), principal of Coles High School, congratulates Raymond Cardona, 18, a hug as he graduates from Coles on Thursday at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium. It was the first time in nearly 50 years students graduated from the school.

Rachel Denny Clow

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Graduates from the original Coles High School are recognized by current graduates during the summer commencement ceremony on Thursday at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium. It was the first time in nearly 50 years students graduated from Coles High School.

Rachel Denny Clow

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Coles High School students prepare to graduate on Thursday at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium. It was the first time in nearly 50 years students graduated from the school.

Rachel Denny Clow

Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Coles High School graduates and other Corpus Christi Independent School District graduates prepare to have a group photo taken before graduation on Thursday at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium. This was the first year since 1967 students graduated from Coles.

Rachel Denny Clow

CORPUS CHRISTI - Dressed in green robes and caps and wearing medals with the image of their school's namesake, 38 students made history Thursday night as the first students to graduate from Coles High School since 1967.

Across the Corpus Christi Independent School District, 117 students graduated during the Summer Commencement Ceremony at the American Bank Center Selena Auditorium.

Branwyn Barnard, 18, graduated in January and could have walked the stage with other King High School students in the spring. She decided, along with more than two dozen students, to wait to graduate until she could do so as a Coles High School student.

"Coles is like a second chance place," Barnard said. "They take in potential drop outs, teen moms, people who can't have regular opportunities at a regular high school. They work with the students. The teachers are amazing. They're willing to do anything to help you graduate and move on, go to college and make something of your life."

When she moved to Corpus Christi from Fort Worth at the beginning of last year, she sought out Coles High School, rather than enroll in King High School, she said. Now the graduate plans to attend Del Mar College and later Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Her goal is to become a drug counselor.

"The high school I came from was a huge school, the teachers had so many students in all their classes it was impossible for them to keep up with the kids that needed help," Barnard said. "I felt like I was getting lost in the middle of everyone and I had no real significance. I wasn't putting any effort into my work. I didn't care because I felt like no one else cared.

"Going to Coles really changed that, every teacher asked if there is anything I needed help with to let them know, they were there for me and that was a really big deal for me."

That small learning environment is one that has helped students succeed, said Monica Bayarena, the school's principal.

"The high schools are big," she said. "We are a small learning community. Kids don't always fit in, or they don't always find their place to fit in. The thing about Coles is we're a family and we're small enough to be a family."

While students who attend Coles will always have an option to graduate with the campus they came from, the option to graduate as a Coles student will continue in the future. Every student who graduate from Coles will receive a medal with the Solomon M. Coles, a former slave and educator.

"His dream was that all students be educated," Bayarena said. "This is another reason why it's important the school be recognized as a high school and the students have this opportunity."

For students, the medal will be a reminder of their accomplishments.

"This medal is a symbol of the difference Coles makes," Barnard said. "We came to Coles to achieve what we couldn't otherwise."

Twitter: @CallerClow

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